rose petals

---this stuff on my mind is always there, now i can set it aside so i dont drive myself crazy--but i wish there was some opinion answer, connection---aaaaahhh!!--here goes--

-- it appears to me that whatever you believe in has great power--so logic would follow we are creating our higher pwer from within by belief--so that means God created us with this power??--or we are God ourselves?--wayne dyer says he went to india and they told him during talking the secret is you are God--what?--i was raised that God is an entity--jesus died for our sins --if you dont believe that you go to hell--is this right or not--reason i ask is if i make the wrong decision i go to hell--this has been a real dilemna for me--i mean i know what i would like to think --but if i choose wrong???--are there any answers out there--has anyone else ever gotten to this point--help!!--
thanks guys
Laura

best

Word studies and the understanding of words would answer the questions you ask.
Trust in this... Jesus is God that came in the flesh. Died for our sins and arose on the third day. All who accept and believe in Him and his gift of life shall not perish.

As to us being gods (small g) We are made in His image and are given control over our free will to make choices. We are small g gods to that point only. God of the universe is BIG G God over all.

doorknob

Maybe human beings live and die just like all other organisms on this planet, and the mythology and religion that has been around since before recorded history is just our attempt to answer the questions for which we have no answer, and to ease our fear of death and the unknown.

DK

best

I believe

rose petals

best
what are word studies?--i dont understand what you are saying
laura

Peter

I have often wondered if perhaps we created God in our own image and not the other way around

best

When we say we are gods, we are not saying we are "The" God.
God placed Adam in His place with dominion over all the animals (small g god)
God has given each of us free will and with that free will, we have a control to do what we want. Dieing to self (giving up self will) and saying God I am your servant is us giving up our free will as self gods(small g)

Word study into what the word god means and then a understanding of who we know is God (big G) Small g god...in control of some things and self. Big G God... in control over all and of all.

doorknob

I find that to be the more likely scenario.

Peter

Sorry but since we started this I feel compelled to throw this into the mix.

The Christian God is the Creator of the world and knows all things.

He knows the past present and future.

If God knows my future and that of every single man woman and child in the Universe why then should I seek the Kingdom of Heaven?

God knows who among us will be saved and who will be lost even from before we were born.

If this is true then nothing I say or do in this life will change my place when the roll is called.

Those among us who think ourselves saved will perish and those that think lost will be saved.

"The first shall be last and the last will be first"

Pewrhaps too salvation is not a destination but rather a journey.

CarolD

I find great comfort in the Sunday School God of love.

"Into My Heart"
"Jesus Loves Me"
"Climb Up Sunshine Mountain"
"Jesus Loves The Little Children"

Remember any of those Laura?

Am I wrong to beleive?
No...that is my joy and salvation.

best

An addict or an alcoholic needs make choices on their own...free will.
You can force recovery on them by locking them up and not allowing access to anything. Are they in recovery?
God can force Himself on us but He wants that we seek Him of our own free will. We would be seeking out of love not out of force.
Would you rather a friend that loves you or a friend that smiles at you just to look the part?
Yes God knows who will and who won't accept Him and He leaves the door open for all to make that choice without forcing Himself on us. Heaven or Hell is our choice not God's choice. I deserve hell but I am promised heaven. God loves us with such perfect love that He made a way for us to enter heaven even though we all desrve hell. All are sinners and "ALL" fall short of reaching heaven.
So many put the focus on heaven and hell. I am happy with the blessings I have here and now. My life has not been so full of joy and blessings as it has been since accepting Jesus as lord and God of my life.

leviathon

You said,

"so logic would follow we are creating our higher pwer from within by belief--so that means God created us with this power??--or we are God ourselves?"

There is some research that is out there that suggests man is born with / hardwired to have a belief in god. What does that mean, does it mean that an entity out there hardwired it into us, or is it a necessary requirement in our evolution so that we can deal with the things that are unknowable or that we are not presently advanced enough to understand? Good question, only you can answer it.

I personally was raised in the "Catholic faith" and I use the quotes intentionally. From my undergraduate studies as a history major, I saw a lot in the history texts that suggest that all the bible is is a compilation of stories put together over centuries to explain the general principles of life. I.e. a manual of how to live. Along with that "manual" were inserted dieties, etc. Are they required, are they real? Who knows, that is what belief is about.

For me, I do not believe in one all powerful god. Why not? I see too much in the world around me to suggest that such a being does not exist... violence, wars, children dying horrendous deaths for absolutely no reason, AIDS, famine, genocide, animal-acide, etc., etc., etc. The list is too long to fully list. At the heart of a lot of these issues is the inherent self interest of mankind.

However, I DO BELIEVE that there is an underlying force that lives within all living things, it connects all beings and anything alive in a continuous cycle of life. It provides all that is needed to live and thrive, man and his/her pursuit of selfish agendas corrupts the innate balance that exists in that force. That living force is benign, it provides all that is necessary for life and it is continuous. It exists in all things. However, we as human beings have our own free choice and it is us that lead us away from that balance.

I have borrowed a bit from Star Wars (the Force), a bit from Native American Indian beliefs (the great creator), Buhdism, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and formed my own belief system. It works for me. You have to choose what works for you.

Keep in mind that written history has observed a transition in "accepted" religious beliefs over thousands of years. Cavemen and early man believed in multiple gods that had many roles in their lives. When we settled into more structured communities, these religions became organized and found wide spread popularity in the Roman culture, among others, then as agrarianism (farming) spread there was a gradual change away from multiple gods to just one god. Now there is an ongoing battle of which version of the one god is the correct one.

Despite all these changes the one common thread is a code of living that is morally based and focusses on compassion and community. As a result, I firmly believe that so long as I live my life in a fashion that is consistent with my moral beliefs and I am a good person, I will have nothing to fear when I die as I will have lived a good life as I was intended.

Do I believe in a heaven or hell? No. I do believe that as science has proven, energy is never lost, it just changes forms (i.e. a nuclear bomb releases a torrent of energy that is transformed into heat energy, electrical energy, etc., etc.). As such, when I pass, the "energy" that is me, will just change to another form. My "husk" or body will dissolve back into the ground and its energy will be reabsorbed into something else that is living. In the alternative, my body will be incinerated and will be changed into heat energy that will be radiated into the universe.

Do I believe in a higher power? Absolutely, my higher power is the living force that connects all things and provides all that is needed for a healthy, happy, fulfilling, and a wonder filled life.

As an example of my steadfast belief in my higher power, I was on my own at 13/14 b/c my home life was so scary that the fear of the known was less than the fear of the unknown (i.e. living on my own). While I did not have a lot during my youth, I had everything I needed to live a healthy life. I even managed to go onto university and later law school. My higher power has provided all that I need. I now provide for others and contribute to the continuous stream of life and am able to return some of what my higher power has given me.

Not sure if me explaining my beliefs is at all helpful, but as I went through this struggle, I just wanted to share my view.

Good luck, Levi

leviathon

Another thing I forgot to mention, as religions are diverse within themselves, for example within christianity you have various groups (i.e. catholics, JW's, baptists, mormons, etc.), how is it that they can believe in the same god, but each believes that only those that subscribe to their particular version of the "faith" will be "saved".

I mean really, if they are all praying to, and worshipping and serving the same god, just with different traditions and customs, why wouldn't they all be saved? Could "god" really be so fickle as to prefer one over the other??? Or like the JW religion, that only a select group (100,000 or something) of their followers will make it into heaven, the rest, despite their beliefs and commitments will be refused admittance. I mean really, now you have to vie to be the "best" worshipper? Now you are competing against your fellow believers in a competition for god's love???

Levi

BSPGirl

Men are Gods.

2dayzmuse

Can we not change our own destiny? The journey in life is to seek out the good in ourselves and others. In doing so we may be changing our own destiny. God is watching and if he sees us making the efforts towards change, he may just upgrade us to the A list. Who knows?

Peter

This is more the point I was trying to make.

If God already knows who among us will "choose" salvation.Then how can anything I do I say alter my destiny. To be a christian is to believe in destiny. It is man's destiny to die and be judged. It is desinied that God will come again to take his chosen home to heaven.If all this is true then it means salvation is just one big lottery with God already knowing who the winners are.

I am not saying I believe in destiny I am saying that as someone who aspires to know the truth there are elements to the story of salvation that defies logic.

Don W

One of the most difficult things I had to learn in recovery was to decide something. I'd drive myself crazy and others also. I'm going to do this, no maybe it's best to do that. What if I make the wrong decision? I have no idea where but, someplace at one of my programs some said, "In life your going to make right and wrong decisions. Some kind of research says on average in our life we run 50/50. I'm going thourgh a little of it myself back in treatment. When I was staying sober I tried to collect facts remember what others have suggested. Just don't over think it, learning to trust you're self is part of recovery. Don W

leviathon

What I was putting to you is whether or not you should accept the "dogma" of organized religions that are attempting to "sell" their brand of religion as the truth. Each religion sells their own version of this "truth". Or is it more important to live up to your ideals of what the "truth" really is and then let the pieces fall where they may?

It's like whether or not to take the road less travelled? The normal road is the safe road, it is the tried and trued road, but it offers the tried and true results. By choosing the road less travelled you are taking a chance and making your own decisions based on what YOU BELIEVE, not what is being TOLD to you by someone that has bought into the "stuff" of an organized religion.

I PERSONALLY DO NOT buy what organized religion is selling. I do not believe in ONE RIGHT WAY to believe in my higher power. If you compare the religious teachings of the Muslim and Christian religions (regardless of sect), the underlying teachings are almost identical. So does it really matter whether you call your god Jesus Christ or God or Mohammad? I SAY NO. As long as you live up to your beliefs as best you can, accepting that you are human and you will not be perfect, then any higher power will accept you as you are. We, as humans, are inherently imperfect, it is part of the human condition, all we can do is strive to be the best we can based on our particular beliefs.

Let me give you an example, my grandfather was a pious Catholic. Attended services throughout the week. Mouthed all the scripture and b.s. Behind closed doors he beat my grandmother to the point that her will was broken, he beat and abused my mom and her siblings. He beat and abused his grandchildren. He beat small animals (cats and dogs) to death in his shed with a balpene hammer. So, he lived up to his Catholic image, will he make it into heaven? I think not. If there is a hell, which I do not believe, he will go there despite his adherence to the "bible" and superficial piousness.

In contrast, there is my older brother. He is an aethiest. He lives a humble, honest and moral life. He does no harm to others and puts his family and community first. Despite his lack of belief in a "god" when he dies, do you think he will be denied admission to "heaven", assuming there is one, because he did not recite scripture and my grandfather would? Again, I think not.

You must choose, no one can do it for you. I firmly believe if you live your life as a good human being, and that you contribute to the betterment of the human condition, the environment and the animals, regardless of which version or any version of religion you practice, you will not be subject to any harm if there is a heaven for a lack of belief because you lived your life as any "creator" could have wanted.

Levi

Peter

"Faith" is the basic unchangable ingredient of any religion. Everything else is just paint and window dressings.

best

Yes to a point My ideals of what I thought was truth had me get into a lot of trouble.
I think the important thing would be striving to live up to God's opinion of what is truth. Yes the road less traveled. Rocky, hard trveling, but the way through the narrow gate.